About 1:50 a.m. Tuesday, Miller demanded money from a cashier at a Dunkin' Donuts at 7315 U.S. 19, implying he had a weapon. He took off with about $200 in a 1997 Dodge van.
The cashier called 911 with a description of the robber and the van. Golczewski, a 41-year-old patrol supervisor with 15 years at the Pinellas Park Police Department, recognized the description.
Golczewski had been patrolling the area earlier when Miller asked for gas money. Golczewski said no and watched Miller walk toward an apartment at 3450 Applewood Ter. and leave in gray van with a noisy fan belt. Later, Golczewski had been patrolling through the Dunkin' Donuts parking lot when he saw Miller standing at the counter.
So Golczewski headed back to the apartment, along with Officers Tim Jandola and Matthew Patsch.
When Miller arrived in the van, the officers told him to stop. Instead, he accelerated at Jandola, forcing him to jump out of the way. Patsch and Golczewski opened fire, hitting the van but missing Miller, who drove off.
Miller circled the neighborhood but soon returned to the apartment, avoided the police and barricaded himself inside.
The SWAT team was called. About 4 a.m., an undercover SWAT team officer was disabling surveillance cameras near the apartment windows when he saw Miller crouching near a doorway.
He told Miller to put his hands up. Instead, Miller reached for something. Fearing he was going for a gun, the officer shot Miller in the upper torso.
Police found two other people inside who were not involved in the robbery. Roommate Larry Michael Paul, 27, was arrested on outstanding drug charges. A 15-year-old runaway girl was reunited with her parents.
ORIGINAL SOURCE
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